A Christmas Carol
by Aribh1306
Summary: Be quiet and listen... You, Mr Riddle, will be visited by three spirits! They'll come after you and I really hope you can learn something from them.
1. Christmas Eve

**N/A:** I normally don't start with N/As, but okay... This is a silly fanfiction I wrote last year for Christmas and now I'm translating it to English (: So, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me, neither A Christmas Carol. Oh, yeah, this story was not proof-read, so, I'm sorry for the mistakes. Hope you enjoy the story~

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**A Christmas Carol**

**Chapter 01 - Christmas Eve**

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Tom Marvolo Riddle was considered by many the best student of Hogwarts. The boy was, with no doubt, brilliant: he always had good marks, his school file was clean and he was an example of responsibility and politeness… For example, now that Christmas was close, the young Slytherin would wish a good holiday for everyone that crossed paths with him on the corridors, always smiling and being extremely polite… What nobody knew was how Tom Riddle wished he could jump of the astronomy tower every time he said a_ "Happy holidays, sir."_

The boy had never enjoyed this time of the year. For him, Christmas had never had a meaning and New Year only reminded him that another year of his life had passed by and he was one year closer to death. Back when he spent the end of the year at the orphanage, Tom hated to attend to Mrs Cole's simple celebrations of Christmas and New Year. He also hated when the other kids wished him a happy birthday on the new year's eve… He had always known that they only did that to be polite, but what they actually wanted to do was to run away from Tom as soon as possible.

But now the Slytherin was at Hogwarts and he could stay quiet in his own corner during the holidays… Well, at least when Slughorn didn't come up with the idea of dragging him to some random Christmas party, but, in that case, he always managed to slip away from the teacher... And it was exactly that what Riddle did when the Master of Potions asked him to join the rest of students that stayed in the castle during the holidays and some teachers on a dinner on Christmas day.

"Professor, I'm sorry, but I think I won't be able to go… You see, I'm not feeling very well."

"Oh, Tom, why don't you go see Madame Heilen? I'm sure she can help you," the teacher smiled and tapped the student's back lightly, "In case you're feeling better by tomorrow night, come to join us."

"Of course, sir."

Tom smirked as he saw Slughorn walking away. Perfect. He had managed to get hid of his teacher and now all he had to do was to go back to the Slytherin's dormitory, which was all his during the holidays, as all his classmates headed home during the break, and enjoy the rest of his Christmas Eve. After crossing the castle, the boy finally got to the entrance of Slytherin's common room, but, before he could get in, two Ravenclaw girls walked by him and smiled, muttering a "Merry Christmas, Tom," and giggling. Riddle smiled back to them before turning back to the stone wall in front of him and whispering the password.

Once inside the common room, Tom looked around, noticing that there was no one else in the Slytherin's dungeons, and threw himself at one of the comfortable dark couches of the room while, with a wave of his wand, he managed to prepare a cup of tea for himself… Everything was in the way the liked: the common room was quiet, wamr and the boy was happy, enjoying the silence and drinking tea while he watched the fire burning in the fireplace.

With a tiny smile on his lips, Riddle closed his eyes and let his head lean against the couch. After a few minutes, the boy opened his eyes and looked around when a irritating sound caught his attention. He finally found the source of the noise when he looked at the fireplace where, above it, someone – probably a ickle first year – had put a garland with a tiny golden bell attached to it. The small bell was shaking, making the annoying noise.

"What…? _Stupid ghosts_, could you stop that!"

The bell went still… Only to start shaking again.

"_Accio garland,_" the boy whispered, pointing his wand at the object, and it flew right to his hand, "Damn it," Tom said as he threw the garland at the floor.

He took a deep breath before raising the cup of tea to his mouth again, but gasped with the drink when he heard a loud noise behind himself, as if something heavy was hitting the wall.

"For Merlin's sake, leave me alone!" the boy yelled and turned around, searching for what had made such a loud noise, waiting to see Peeves or another ghost there, but there was no one.

Whispering curses to himself, the boy sat back in the couch, but as soon as he turned to look at the fireplace…

"Hello, Mr Riddle!"

_"What the…!"_

Standing in front of him there was a girl smiling and blushing slightly. She was short, with dark hair pulled into two pigtails and wore a pair of round glasses… Tom knew her… Merlin, of course he knew her!

"Myrtle?"

"It's good to see that you remember me," she smiled and sat down next to him, looking at him with a amused expression on her pale face.

"What do you want?"

"I came to warn you, Riddle," the ghost of Myrtle Mortmore, the girl killed by his basilisk in his last school year, said, "See, I know what will happen with you in the future… And, believe me, it's not a pretty future that you have ahead! Your destiny will be worse than mine," she sighed heavily, "You won't even stay in the form of a ghost if you don't change the way you are…"

"The way I am? _Merlin_, I choose the way I act, alright? One visit of you won't change me."

"Oh, poor Tom Riddle," Myrtle shook her head, "You don't know how your future will be… This life you're having right now will only take you to the wrong path, believe me. And, by the way, it won't be _my _visit that will change you…

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you'll have another chance. If you change your behavior after this night, everything you did until today," the girl spoke, "Everythin… It includes killing me, will be forgiven."

The boy stared at her for a moment before rolling his eyes and laughing softly, "And who said I want to be forgiven? And who the hell will forgive me? _God_? Make me laugh, Myrtle."

"Be quiet and listen!" the spirit yelled, extending her arm as if she was going to punch him, but her hand only went right through the Slytherin's chest, "You, Mr Riddle, will be visited by three spirits! They'll come after you and I really hope you can learn something from them."

Tom kept staring at the girl whose arm was still inside his chest, giving him a strange cold sensation. When she saw the surprised expression on the other's face, Myrtle smiled and backed away.

"As I said, who said I want their visit?"

"As I said, be quiet!"

"Since when you're so rude?"

"Since I died! Since _you killed me_, you idiot!" Oh Merlin, Myrtle started crying… Well, Tom was not sure if ghosts could cry or not, but she was whimpering as if she was crying, "I have the right to be rude to you! Now, pay attention because I'm already losing my temper with you: the first spirit will come at one in morning! I warned you…"

And, after saying that, the ghost started to sob almost desperately before flying across the room, disappearing at the wall behind the couch.

Tom's eyes didn't move from where Myrtle was a few seconds before while he tried to understand everything that had happened. Shaking his head and telling himself that it was nothing, only the spirit of a hysterical girl trying to scare him, the boy got up and headed to his room, getting ready to go to bed.

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**N/A:** So, it's so weird to translate this one... I mean, I had so much fun writing it, but now I'm not sure if it's good or not. I know it's short, but this fanfiction's chapter are kinda short ): Well, as I said before, it's kinda like a parody of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol ... I've never read the book, only watched at least 4 versions of the movie XD my sister read the book though... Well, this fanfiction was originally written right after I wacthed the last version of A Christmas Carol released, you know, that one with Jim Carrey. Anyway, I wrote this just for fun, so don't expect anything "oh-so-good" of this fanfiction ._.'

**1- Myrtle Mortmore:** Moaning Myrtle... I thought it would be nice to give her a last name.

**2- "Garland":** is it right? We call it "guirlanda"... I searched on internet and I believe it's "garland" in English.

Oh, yeah, this fic takes place in 1942, so Tom is... 15. He'll be 16 on the new year's eve of 1942, if I'm not wrong.

Hope you enjoyed it (:

**Ari.**


	2. The Ghost of Christmas Past

**A Christmas Carol**

**Chapter 02 - The Ghost of Christmas Past**

Tom couldn't sleep, even after rolling on his bed during a long time, getting up, walking around the room and opening and closing the curtains of his bed's baldachin a dozen times. He simply couldn't fall asleep, not while the image of Myrtle talking to him in the common room still fresh in his mind.

_"You're behaving like a fool! She is a ghost, congratulations to her! Who told her to be so unhappy in her life that she would come back as a spirit after dying?"_

Sighing, the boy lied down on his bed and closed his eyes, but opened them again when he heard a noise of book's pages being turned. Sitting up on the bed, Riddle could see that something on the other side of the green curtains of his bed was emitting a bright light that penetrated trough the green fabric.

The Slytherin took a deep breath before opening the curtains and seeing, in front of him, sitting on Abraxas Malfoy's bed, a girl.

"Who are you? How did you enter here? You couldn't have apara…"

"It's impossible to apparate inside Hogwarts' grounds," the girl completed his speech and pointed to a book that she was apparently reading, "It's in _Hogwarts: A History_, page…"

"Page 130," he whispered, "I read _Hogwarts: A History_."

The girl closed her book and looked at him. Tom noticed how she emitted a faint light, as if she had a golden aura around her body. The unknown girl was wearing a Hogwart's uniform, Gryffindor's uniform, to be more specific, as he could see the dark red in some parts of her robes. Her brown eyes were locked on his blue ones.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past," she answered, smiling softly.

"Ghost of Christmas…? I can't believe that what that mad girl said was true!" the boy said, watching the girl trying to tidy her extremely bushy brown hair that seemed to be floating around her head, as if she was underwater.

"Follow me," the spirit whispered, putting her book aside and getting up from the bed, before walking to the dormitory's window.

"You want me to go with you?" she nodded as she heard his question, "I'm not a ghost like you, if I try to go out of that window I'll end up drowning in the lake."

The girl laughed softly and approached him.

"It's true, but with if I touch you here…" she extended her hand and touched his chest, right above his heart, "You'll be able to come with me."

Tom's eyes were fixed on the girl, who was now holding his hand. He couldn't help but notice that her skin, unlike Myrtle's, was warm against his. Smiling, the ghost pulled him lightly and, before he couldn't notice, they were going through the window, crossing the Dark Lake and, finally, flying above Hogwarts' grounds. Riddle squeezed the girl's hand and tried not to look down. He didn't like flying thanks to his first flying class that turned out to be a disaster back in his first year. The spirit seemed to smile when she noticed how terrified Tom was.

After a while, both of them landed in a dark, snow covered street. By the end of the street stood an old building that Tom recognized and which the sight of made Tom regret had followed the spirit.

"Do you know this place?"

"Of course I do, I come back here every year," the boy whispered, "I wish I didn't have to."

The girl shrugged and started walking in the orphanage's direction, followed by Riddle, who seemed to hesitate to approach the place. She opened the front door and let the Slytherin get in, doing the same later. Inside the building there were children running and laughing all around, all of them happy with the fact that it was Christmas Eve.

"Spirit…?"

"Hermione," she interrupted him, "Call me Hermione."

"Alright, Hermione… Are they able to see us?"

"We're invisible to their eyes, they are only shadows of your past, you know? They're not really here."

The girl leaded the way to the second floor and walked down the corridor where the children's rooms were located until she stopped in front of a particular door.

"Everyone is down there, celebrating," she whispered, putting her hand on the doorknob, "Except one boy… Ignored by the others, he stays in here until one of the staff members show up to bring him down."

She pushed the door open and they saw a dark haired little boy sitting on an uncomfortable-looking bed. The children's blue eyes were fixed on his own tiny hands that played with the fabric of his shirt. Tom felt bad while he watched the boy, the same empty feeling that he knew the kid was feeling at the moment… After all, it was him sitting on the bed, waiting for someone to remember that he existed.

"It's not as if he didn't like Christmas," Hermione spoke, sitting down next to the younger Riddle, "He likes, but he feels that this day is not for him. After all, Christmas is a day to be reunited with whom you like, your friends and family…"

"But he doesn't have friends or family," the words slipped through Tom's lips before he could have noticed.

The older boy didn't dare to approach the spirit, he simply stood by the door, watching the scene that took place right in front of him. His younger self looked at the door for some time, as if waiting for someone to show up there, before lowering his head and hiding his face into his knees. It was possible to tell that he was crying thanks to the way his shoulders were shaking and to the quiet whimpers that could be heard.

Hermione smiled sadly and put her hand on the boy's head, caressing his dark hair, as if trying to comfort him, and gestured for the older Tom to approach them. The teenager walked slowly until he reached the bed, where he sat down near himself and the spirit.

"Your lips are trembling," the girl whispered, touching the wizard's lips and then his right cheek, "And what is it on your cheek?"

He felt her fingertips drying a stubborn tear that had managed to slip from the corner of his eye. The ghost smiled and held his face with her hands before putting her arms around his body, pulling him into a hug. Tom was petrified; he didn't know what to do… No one, besides Mrs Cole or Martha, had ever hugged him that way.

"Let us see another Christmas," the girl's soft voice whispered in his ear.

When Hermione's arms let go of him, the teenager noticed that they weren't in the orphanage anymore but at Hogwarts, inside Slytherin's common room, where a group of students were reunited around the fireplace. Tom Riddle, who couldn't be older than twelve, was sitting on a couch between two other boys, watching the other students talking.

"Malfoy, be quiet! No one wants to know about the family of your future wife!" a dark haired boy laughed, punching a blond one lightly on the shoulder, "Riddle! You're too quiet… Tell us about _your_ family."

"I…" he started talking, "I don't like to talk about it, I mean, and it's not really entertaining."

"Come one! You can't be a mudblood, even though your name is a mudblood's name," the same dark haired student laughed loudly.

Both, younger and older, Riddles blushed with both anger and shame as they heard what the other boy had said. The other young wizards and witches laughed, making the younger Tom frown, cross his arms in front of his chest and look away from the others.

"That was your first Christmas at Hogwarts, the first Christmas you spent with your friends," the ghost said as she turned around to look at the teenager Slytherin behind her and seeing that he was restraining himself from attacking the kids in front of them, "After this year, they lost their interest in spending the holidays at the castle…"

"They go home every year," Tom whispered, "Manors full of treasures that were passed down their pure-blooded families."

"And you always stayed here."

"Yes."

"After this year you started to think that it would be better to be alone during Christmas," she took his hand and pulled him towards the common room's door, "That it would be better to be alone instead of having to listen to the others talking about their pure families…"

Everything changed again. It was still Hogwarts, but they were in the middle of the Great Hall. There was only a long table where teachers and students were eating dinner. Tom, who looked at least thirteen years old, was among the students, sitting next to Slughorn. It was possible to notice how the Slytherin's attention was far away from the teacher's conversation… Riddle was staring at a group of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors who were talking and laughing without minding if they were looking silly or not. The boy's blue eyes were sparkling with desire… He wanted that, he wanted to be part of that group of friends who seemed to be having so much fun.

"That is your image of a perfect Christmas, isn't it, Tom?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, spirit."

"_Hermione_. I don't like when people call me spirit," the girl answered, "See how you look at them? You obviously want their friendship… Oh, Merlin, my time is ending."

The ghost turned to look at Tom, gently holding his hand. Hermione stared into his blue eyes and then touched his face, closing his eyes.

"And now?" Riddle asked.

"Now you'll wait for the next spirit to show up," the girl smiled and hugged him, "By the way, I know you wanted to know this since you first saw me…" she whispered in his ear, "I'm a muggleborn," Hermione moved away and gave a quick peck on his cheek, making him blush lightly, "Good bye, Tom Riddle."

When the Slytherin opened his eyes, he was, once again, standing next to his bed.

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**N/A:** Here is the second chapter (: My favorite, I believe... I choose Hermione to be the Ghost of Christmas Past because this Ghost always seemed to be really kind and sweet, just how I imagine Hermione. You can also see a lot of "cute" scenes between Tom and Mione in this chap... That's because I love TomMione :D I couldn't help but write those sweet moments between the two of them, hehe.

Tomorrow I'm traveling with my family. I really wanted to post the last chapter of this fanfiction on the 25th... I hope I manage to do it ._.'

Thank you, **EllyUchiha**, for the review (: and for pointing a mistake in the last chapter :D I've already corrected it.

Hope you enjoyed it (:

**Ari.**


	3. The Ghost of Christmas Present

**A Christmas Carol**

**Chapter 03 - The Ghost of Christmas Present**

It was obvious that Tom Riddle wouldn't be able to sleep after what had happened. The boy was lying down on his bed, looking at the ceiling with his widened, blue eyes, trying to cope with everything that had happened that night… First, Myrtle's ghost and, then, that girl called Hermione. All that madness had to be true, or else he was going mad. The Slytherin was pulled from his thoughts as he heard a small giggle coming from somewhere near. Taking a deep breath, he got up and looked around, seeing that there was no one in the dormitory with him. Tom heard it again, a soft laugh that seemed to be coming from the common room, and decided to go after the noise, trying to figure out what the next "ghost" would be like.

When he finally reached the common room, Tom couldn't help but stare at it in wonder. The whole room was beautifully decorated, much different from the usual Christmas decoration that the Slytherins put up in their dungeon.

"Oh, hello," a dreamy voice spoke, making Riddle stop staring at the decoration and start to look for who had spoken to him, "I was waiting for you, Mr Riddle."

He turned around to see a girl standing behind him. She had big blue eyes, long blond hair that reached her waist and, unlike the ghost of Christmas past, wasn't wearing Hogwarts' uniform, but a silver dress that resembled a Christmas tree.

"I think you already know, but…" she smiled, "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present."

"Yes, the other spirit said you would come," the boy whispered, watching as the girl looked around the room.

"Pretty, isn't it? I could stay here all night, just looking…"

"What? _No_. You have to show me something that I don't know what it is, so do it quickly, alright?" Tom ordered, approaching the girl who was staring at him with a curious expression on her face.

She smiled and looked around one last time before extending her hand to the Slytherin. Riddle muttered something under his breath and held her hand, seeing everything around them vanish and waited for the uncomfortable flight he had experienced with Hermione, but, instead, they simply seemed to apparate into another Hogwarts' room. The place was also decorated, but it's decoration was nothing in comparison to what he had seen in his common room, and there were some people in it. He could see professor Slughorn standing by the door, greeting some students that had just arrived to his Christmas party.

"Merry Christmas, Albus! Merry Christma, headmaster," the Potion's Master smiled happily at the two other teachers that had arrived, "It's good to see you could come…"

"We wouldn't ignore one of your parties, Horace," Dippet laughed, "It seems that everyone is in here, am I right?"

"Yes, yes… Well, except for Mr Riddle."

"He didn't come down to dinner yesterday," said Dumbledor.

"He told me he wasn't feeling very well. The poor boy must be stressed with all his studies," Slughorn shook his head, "With the OWLs coming up, Mr Riddle must be studying more than ever."

"Come on, Horace, the OWLs are still far away!"

"I know, Albus, but you know Tom Riddle. The boy is really responsible when it comes to studying, you know how he is terrified of not getting good marks at the OWLs."

"Such a responsible boy, Mr Riddle," the headmaster smiled.

"Indeed, headmaster," Horace laughed softly, "I tell you: I won't be surprised if, onde day, Tom becomes Minister of Magic."

The Trasnfiguration's teacher smiled at the other two before excusing himself to talk with two Ravenclaws that were walking by. Tom mentally cursed Dumbledore… The old wizard was always thinking that he was up to something bad and never gave him enough credit. The smile from the deputy headmaster was as fake as the so well known fake smiles from Tom Riddle himself.

"Come here," the ghost took his hand and leaded him across the room, "Do you know them?"

Riddle looked at the two Gryffindors the girl was pointing at. Minerva McGonagall and Charlus Potter. They were both at the Quidditch team, both chasers, and had been friends since their first year… and, as every good Gryffindor, they were extremely annoying.

"It's good that he isn't here," the Gryffindor boy spoke, "At least we don't have to look at his stupid '_I'm-better-than-you_' face."

"Yes, but… I feel bad for Slughorn, you know how happy he was because all the students and teachers were going to come to his party."

"How much do you bet Riddle's indisposition is his own invention?"

"I know he made it up, Charlus," Minerva sighed, "Riddle is an expert when it comes to lying and looking like the most innocent person in the world… That's why I prefer to stay away from that creature."

The Slytherin laughed sarcastically before turning around and staring at the ghost.

"Why did you show me that? I know they aren't fond of me."

"Don't you see?" the girl asked, raising one of her eyebrows, "There are a lot of people who like you," she pointed at Dippet and Slughorn, who were still talking to each other, "But there are also those who hate you due to the way you're…ahm…"

"The way I am…?"

"Arrogant, fake and annoying," the girl smiled as if it were the most normal thing on Earth to say that to someone, "Shall we go?"

Without waiting for a answer, the spirit took his hand and, suddenly, they were in a completely different room. This one was much richer than Slughorn's room. There were three boys sitting in a dark couch by a fireplace.

"Malfoy, Avery and Lestrange!" Riddle approached them, "I didn't know they spent the holidays together! Why don't they stay at Hogwarts?"

The ghost shrugged and watched as the room's door was opened and a tall, blond woman entered.

"Abraxas, dear? Your father and I are going to the Black's now, alright?" the witch, Mrs Malfoy, bent down to kiss her son's forehead, "See you later."

"See you later, mom."

The three teenagers stayed in silence until the woman left.

"So, what do you think Riddle is doing by now?" Canopus Lestrange asked as a malicious smile appeared on his lips.

"He's probably at one of Sughorn's parties," Malfoy answered, "You know how Slug likes him."

"Or he's in the dormitory, sulking and spending Christmas alone," this time it was Alphard Avery who spoke, "He must think that he is too good to show up in Slug's party… You know, the Heir of Slytherin among common students? _Never!_"

The three Slytherins laughed out loud. Tom could swear that he was blushing and promised to himself that, once his classmates were back at Hogwarts, he would take good care of them.

"If he finds out you speak of him like that," Abraxas laughed, "You're dead, Alphard."

"If he finds out you invited us to spend the holidays here and didn't asked him to come, you're also dead, my friend!" Avery smiled.

"I thought about inviting him, but then we would have to endure him talking about OWLs and his crazy plans during all the break," the blond boy sighed and took a sip of butterbeer from the glass he had in his hand.

"You did the right thing, Abraxas," Lestrange nodded, "Avery and I also didn't want Riddle here."

"I love how Riddle's friends are all faker than him," Alphard laughed, "No one really likes him… Even we, his '_death eaters_', don't like him! I mean, I don't… _Annoying half-blood_."

"So why are you always around him?"

"Because, Malfoy, he has good ideas, good marks and is influent… We can't deny that," the boy answered, "His friendship may be of use in the future."

Riddle couldn't believe in what he had just heard. They were his friends! At Hogwarts, they admired him, _feared him!_ How was that possible that those boys despised him so much?

"I can't believe that…"

"That they talk about you like that?" the spirit asked, approaching him, "As I told you, there are people that adore you and people that hate you."

"But they do admire me! At school…"

"They may admire you, but they dislike your company," the girl smiled sadly, "Tell, Mr Riddle, what's so good about being admired and not being loved by your friends?"

The boy didn't answer, instead, he simply watched as his housemates continued talking and laughing by the fireplace. That weird sensation of loneliness that he hadn't felt in years seemed to come back to him. Shaking his head and looking back at the spirit, Tom could see that she was looking at the Christmas tree that decorated the Malfoy's room, poking at one of the tiny crystal pendants that were hanging from the tree.

"This one looks like a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, I think."

"What is a Crumple-Horned Snorkack?," Riddle asked, looking at the girl as If she was some kind of lunatic.

"It's an animal. They are very difficult to be spotted… I think they are shy."

"When you say 'very difficult to be spotted', you mean that they doesn't exist, am I right, spirit?"

"No, Mr Riddle… Oh, may I call you 'Tom'?," the girl whispered, "By the way, my name is Luna."

_"Looney Luna,"_ the Slytherin thought and tried to restrain himself from laughing.

"Yes, Looney Luna," she smiled and took him by the hand again.

They were now standing in the middle of a dark corridor Tom couldn't recognize. The place was beautifully decorated, but It was possible to tell that it wasn't a wizard's or a witch's house, everything looked so… muggle-ish.

"Do you know this place?"

"No."

"Come."

Lune leaded him across the corridor until they reached a door. The girl looked at him before opening it and entering a cozy and pretty room where three unknown figures were sitting by the fireplace, much like how Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard had been back at the Malfoy's.

"Do you know them?"

The boy approached the fireplace and gasped when the people's face became visible.

"How…?"

One of them was an old lady with graying dark hair and dark blue eyes. She was holding hands with an old man with gray hair, light blue eyes and with a face marked with wrinkles. But it wasn't the old couple who caught his attention the most… It was the third person, a handsome man with perfectly combed dark hair, pale skin and, like the old man, icy blue eyes. It wasn't necessary to think too much to understand who that man was.

"We are in a muggle village called Little Hangleton and they are the most influent family around here," Luna approached them, "Years ago, the Riddles' son, Tom, ran away with a girl who lived across the river behind this house. They went missing for months, until the boy came back. Alone."

"He left her because she was a witch," the Slytherin whispered, feeling anger build up inside himself and his eyes welling up with tears, "It's his fault that she's dead."

"Don't be so harsh, Tom."

"Don't call me 'Tom'! Don't call by this muggle name!"

"It's your name, _Tom_," the girl smiled, "But, back to subject, don't take sides too early… You don't know his version of the story."

"His version? There is _no _such a thing as 'his version of the story'!"

"I can't talk too much about this, Tom," Luna whispered and looked around, smiling softly, "Did you know that Amortentia is a really strong and dangerous potion?"

"What does Amortentia have to do with this whole situation?"

"I don't know, why don't you find out for me?" she laughed quietly, "But, Tom, tell me… Isn't this what you wanted? Tell me the truth! You've always dreamed about being here, no? With your family."

"No."

"Look at them, Tom," the spirit pulled the sleeve of his pyjamas, making him approach his father, "You wanted to be here with them… You wanted to belong in this family."

The boy shook his head, trying to ignore all the emotions that he was feeling at the moment. He felt the girl taking his hand and leading it until his fingertips touched the face of the older Tom Riddle. He could feel the other man's skin beneath his fingers but apparently the other couldn't feel him, as he didn't flinch at the touch.

"Now you know where your family lives, Tom."

Luna smiled at him and let go of his hand. The Slytherin kept staring at his father, trying to understand what the girl wanted him to learn from this unexpected visit.

"Damn it," he whispered, raising his hand to wip away some tears that had escaped from his eyes. It was the second time he had cried that night. How embarrassing.

Riddle felt the spirit hand in his and, before he could notice, he wasn't in Little Hangleton anymore, but inside his dormitory, and there was no Luna by his side.

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**N/A:** Third chapter! Luna is the second ghost because... I've always wanted to know how Tom would react if he met Luna Lovegood :D He is all serious and 'stick-to-the-facts' like Hermione and Luna is all dreamy, believing in crazy stuff and all, I thought it would be fun to put these two characters together in a story (: . Tom's muggle family appeared in this chapter... I must say I love the Riddles, all of them ._. I have a thing for Tom Riddle Sr, I mean, I love his character and absolutely love to write him! As this fanfiction takes place during the year of 1942, Tom Jr hadn't killed them yet (: I think he kills them during the summer of 1943 if I'm not mistaken...

Well, that's it (: Thank you, **givetherabbitthefreakintrix**, **EllyUchiha **and **Dracarot **, for reviewing last chapter (: And Merry Christmas for everyone who is reading this :D

Hope you enjoyed it (:

**Ari.**


	4. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

**A Christmas Carol**

**Chapter 04 - The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come**

To wait for the last spirit to show up was all Tom could do.

The boy stayed standing in the middle of his dormitory, looking around and trying to figure out what the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come would be like. He had read the book by Charles Dickens and knew that the last ghost was the worst of the three, but Riddle wouldn't let a grumpy spirit intimidate him. Tom was pulled from his thoughts by a weird shadow that appeared on the curtains of his bed's baldachin. That was obviously not his shadow, he could tell that because the image on the curtains was apparently wearing a cloak.

"Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?"

The shadow didn't move.

_"Great."_

The Slytherin turned around to look at the spirit. He (or was it she?) had the same height as Tom and was wearing a dark cloak which hid his face. Not like the other ghosts, this one didn't make a move when he saw that the boy was staring at him.

"Alright… What do you…?"

The spirit pointed at something behind Riddle. Sighing, the boy turned around to see what the other wanted him to look at… His dormitory had vanished and now they were inside a cozy living room that was all decorated for Christmas. There was a couple sitting on the floor, next to a Christmas tree, talking and smiling. The man was making sparkles come out of his wand, entertaining a baby boy who was sitting on the woman's lap. The baby had dark hair, like his father, and green eyes, like his mother.

"Merry Christmas, Harry!" the red haired woman smiled.

"Our first Christmas as parents," the man leaned and kissed his wife's cheek, "Merry Christmas, Lily," he turned to look at his son and messed his dark hair, "Merry Christmas, big boy!"

The child laughed happily. Tom couldn't help but feel jealous… That was what he always wished for during his whole childhood: a family with whom he could get reunited with during important days like Christmas.

"Alright, who are those people?" the boy asked even though he knew the shadow wouldn't answer.

As he thought, the spirit ignored his question and pointed at something else. Again, the Slytherin looked at what the other had pointed and saw the place around them changing. He and the ghost were now standing in a kitchen of a house which Tom could tell that was owned by muggles.

"Where are you?"

"I'm coming, Uncle Vernon," a little boy entered the kitchen.

The boy was wearing clothes that were too big for his small body and it made him look too thin, almost sick. His dark hair was a mess as it fell over his forehead, almost hiding a lightening bolt shaped scar that was there, and his eyes were brightly green.

"This boy is the baby that we saw?" no answer, "I don't know why I even bother asking."

Saying that, the teenager crossed the kitchen and entered the living room to see what the boy was doing.

"Help your aunt with the presents," there was a large man with a huge moustache sitting on the couch, pointing at a tall, blond woman who was standing by the Christmas tree, "And go quickly!"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon."

"What happened to his parents?" Tom asked.

"And don't make that face! You should be more grateful, boy!", the muggle spoke, "If it weren't for us, you would be alone on the world! No parents, no friends, no relatives…

So he was an orphan… A young wizard living with muggles, just like Tom.

"Marge will be there in a few minutes and I want everything in it's place," Uncle Vernon looked at the boy with a serious face, "Don't you dare to do anything silly! If anything goes wrong tonight I swear you'll be locked in that cupboard until next year, understood?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon."

Couldn't the boy give another answer? Why didn't he do something against that great idiot? If Riddle was in his place, that muggle would have regretted saying all those things he had said a few minutes ago.

The scene in front of them changed again. They were now looking at a little red haired girl who was sitting on a bed with a notebook opened over the sheets. The girl was desperately writing in a blank page while tears rolled down her face. When he noticed that the ghost wouldn't do anything, Tom approached the girl to see what he was writing and gasped as he recognized the notebook.

_"I don't know what is happening to me, Tom! Today I had another blackout… Ron said he looked for me all around the castle to wish me a Merry Christmas and couldn't find me, but I don't remember going out of Gryffindor's Tower!"_

The red head started to cry even harder. Her quill trembled a lot in her tiny hands, dirtying the page… But the ink soon started to disappear, as if it was being sucked into the old paper.

_"Don't worry, Ginevra,"_ words appeared on the page and Tom knew that calligraphy very well,_ "It can't be something bad."_

_"But, Tom… The attacks! They always happen when I have those…"_

_"Ginevra, calm down. You're not responsible for those attacks… I know you and I'm sure you wouldn't be capable to do all those things, little one."_

A tiny smile appeared on the girls lips.

"_The best thing you can do now is to calm down. Tell everything that happened, it'll make you feel better, my dear."_

The little girl and the diary of T. M. Riddle disappeared.

_"Escaped."_

_"How?"_

_"The girl took him…"_

There was a man standing in the middle of a dirty and destroyed room, stroking a huge snake that was resting on his shoulders. The wizard's face was the weirdest thing Tom had ever seen… A mixture of man and snake: red eyes with snake-like pupils, nostrils that were only thin slits in the middle of his face and extremely pale skin… That thing couldn't be human.

_"We had him so close,"_ the snake hissed, _"We could try to find him… Send your death eaters! Malfoy can do it, can't him?"_

_"Do you really think he could go after the boy? Lucius Malfoy is a incompetent… Not so different from his father."_

Lucius Malfoy? Was him the son of Abraxas?

_"What are we going to do, master?"_

_"Potter will show up," _the man whispered_, "Sooner or later, he'll have to show up… And Lord Voldemort will be waiting for him."_

Lord Voldemort! That was _his _name, _his _nickname! How did that man know…?

"That… That's _me_…"

Stare at Lord Voldemort and trying to imagine how did he manage to end up like that was all Tom could do. Alright, it was fascinating to see how powerful that wizard was… But, at the same time, it was disturbing to see that, one day, he would become that.

_"At least you'll have power,"_ he thought, _"Yes, and the only creature who'll support you in your life will be a snake."_

Still staring at Voldemort's snake-like face, the boy saw the scene change. What he saw now made his jaw drop…

It was a couple, but not any couple. Tom could swear that the young man was the orphan boy raised by muggles and the girl was the little red head who wrote in his diary… Both of them looked relieved, smiling calmly to each other.

"Ron, Mione!" the boy with green eyes waved for two people who had just entered the room: a tall, red haired boy with blue eyes and a short girl with bushy hair and brown eyes…

"Hermione? The Ghost of Christmas Past…" Tom whispered, looking at the girl, "That's her! What is she doing here?"

"Hello, Harry… Ginny!" Hermione smiled at them, sitting next the red haired boy on the couch, "Hi, Neville! Hello, Luna."

It was just now that Tom noticed that there was another couple in the room. Neville, a tall boy with brown hair, and Luna… Which was the same Luna whom he had met as the Ghost of Christmas Present. The six of them started talking happily, until one of them touched a subject that, apparently, was pretty delicate.

"Have you noticed that this is our first Christmas without Voldemort?" Neville asked, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"Our first Christmas without having to worry about that idiot," this time it was Ron who spoke.

"Thanks Merlin," Hermione, the same sweet Hermione who had treated him so well, seemed satisfied with the fact that the Dark Lord had been defeated, "But… Enough of it! It's all over now, we're all getting our lives back after all the horrors he made us go through."

"What does that mean? Was I imprisoned… In Azkaban? What happened?" the Slytherin asked.

The spirit extended his hand, handing him a edition of the Daily Prophet. Even though he didn't understood what the ghost wanted him to do, Tom took the newspaper, without noticing that the place around them had changed.

**"LORD VOLDEMORT DIES IN THE BATTLE OF THE SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY OF HOGWARTS**

**HARRY POTTER, THE BOY WHO LIVED, FINALLY DEFEATED THE DARK LORD"**

"No… This is not true," the boy whispered, widening his blue eyes and feeling as if all the air had been sucked from his lungs, "I can't be defeated by a boy lika that! I CAN'T!"

He threw the newspaper at the floor and turned to look at the spirit. Riddle gasped as he saw that the ghost had removed the hood of his cloak, revealing his face… A dark haired boy with green eyes and a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

"_You! _Y-You are the idiot who is… who is…"

"I didn't do anything to you, Voldemort," the other boy whispered, approaching the Slytherin, "You did it to youself."

"No, no, no, _no!_"

"This hunger for power of yours leaded you to this. You didn't want to love, right? Because love is for the weak… You managed to do it. You didn't want to be human, because to be human is to be mortal…And to be mortal is to be weak."

"It's good to see that you understand my point of view," said Riddle, restraining himself from showing any trace of fear in his voice.

"Congratulations, Tom, you did it," the spirit was close enough to touch him, which made the Slytherin really uncomfortable.

Riddle looked around and noticed that they were standing in the middle of a graveyeard. There was a elegant grave with a scary stone angel standing right behind him. There were three names written on the stone…

**THOMAS RIDDLE**

**MARY RIDDLE**

**TOM RIDDLE**

"You managed not to be human, Voldemort," there was another name being formed on the stone while Harry spoke, "And this leaded you to your defeat."

**TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE**

Tom was sure that he was going to pass out anytime soon. He couldn't breath as he read his name on the grave and, suddenly, felt the ground beneath his feet disappear. Now he was falling right into the grave where an opened coffin was waiting for him…

He couldn't end up like that! He couldn't end up in that filth grave! He…!

"No!"

Tom Riddle couldn't breath, couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't hold onto something to stop the fall… The only thing he could do was to close his eyes seconds before he felt his body hitting the bottom of the coffin.

* * *

**N/A:** Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come... I've always been scared of him XD This ghost is represented by Harry because... well, I always imagined the Ghost of Future as something that makes us remember of "Death", and Harry is Voldemort's death... Yeah. I translated it during my mother's cousin Christmas dinner ._.'

Wow, I discovered a stupid mistake I did in this fanfiction D: I said that this story takes place in 1942, right? But, in the books, Myrtle dies only in June of 1943 D: I can't believe I let it pass! Really, I hate when I read a fanfiction with wrong time line and all, and I've just done that D: I'm sorry... [let's just believe for a while that Myrtle died in 1942 x_x].

Well, hope you liked it :D

**Ari.**


	5. Merry Christmas

**A Christmas Carol**

**Chapter 05 - Merry Christmas**

Tom Riddle felt a terrible pain as his face hit the cold floor. The boy moaned, before getting up and looking around… He was, once again, inside the Slytherin's dormitory and not in the bottom of a grave, inside a dirty coffin.

"What happened?"

The Slytherin saw that his bed was a mess: the green blankets were entwined around his legs, the white sheets were falling on the other side of the bed, along with his pillow. Tom looked at the watch he had left on the table next to his bed… 12 P.M.

"So?" a annoying voice called him.

Turned around, Riddle saw Myrtle's ghost sitting on his bed. Her legs were crossed and she rested her chin on her hand while looking at him.

"Myrtle…"

"What did you think about the spirits?" she gave a soft laugh.

"Was it all real?"

"Merlin!" the girl hid her face behind her hand, "Of course! What? Did you think it was a dream?"

"Well, you couldn't blame me for thinking that I was having a bad dream," he muttered.

"You decide it. Believe it was just a dream, if this seems better for you… But, if I were you, I would believe in everything I saw tonight."

And, saying that, the girl waved him good bye before getting up and walking through the wall. The young wizard kept staing at where the ghost had just disappeared, trying to figure out what to do next… Ignore everything or accept the fact that the three spirit had visited him?"

"It seems that everyone is in here, am I right?"

"Yes, yes… Well, except for Mr Riddle."

"He didn't come down to dinner yesterday," said Dumbledor.

"He told me he wasn't feeling very well. The poor boy must be stressed with all his studies," Slughorn shook his head, "With the OWLs coming up, Mr Riddle must be studying more than ever."

"Come on, Horace, the OWLs are still far away!"

"I know, Albus, but you know Tom Riddle. The boy is really responsible when it comes to studying, you know how he is terrified of not getting good marks at the OWLs."

"Such a responsible boy, Mr Riddle," the headmaster smiled.

"Indeed, headmaster," Horace laughed softly, "I tell you: I won't be surprised if, onde day, Tom becomes Minister of Magic."

"Talking about the future Minister," Dippet smiled and pointed at the door where Tom Riddle was standing with a strange expression on his face.

"Tom, my boy!" Horace waved his hand, watching as the boy approached them, "I thought you wouldn't come… By the way, merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, professor," the Slytherin answered, looking a little bit uncomfortable as he looked around, "Merry Christmas, professor Dumbledore, headmaster."

"Merry Christmas, Tom," the Transfiguration teacher gave him a gentle smile.

Looking around the room, the boy saw Minerva McGonagall and Charlus Potter chatting on a corner… Just like he had seen them when he was accompanied by Luna.

"Professors, if you'll excuse me…"

"Ah? Of course, Tom," Slughorn laughed, "The poor boy doesn't want to hear our old men's talk."

Alright, what was he going to do? Approach the two Gryffindors and try to be nice to them, but how? The boy could almost see the looks of despise the two Quidditch players would throw at him.

"McGonagall? Potter?"

As he thought, the two students looked at him with confused look, before their expressions turned into something like despise.

"What is it now, Riddle?" Minerva asked, putting her hands on her waist, "Can't you leave us alone at least for today? I mean… It's Christmas! We don't need your fake gentleness today."

"Hey, Minerva, calm down!" Charlus whispered to his friend, "But, really, Riddle, what do you want?"

"I just wanted to you wish you two a merry Christmas."

The Gryffindors stared at him with widened eyes, surprised. Tom Riddle was actually being nice to them? Alright, it was normal to see the boy wishing "merry Christmas" to everyone around the castle, but always with a horrible lack of interest… But now it seemed that he really meant what he had just said.

"Ahm…" the girl watched as the Slytherin seemed to be anxious to know their reaction, "Merry Christmas to you too."

"Yeah… Merry Christmas," Charlus whispered, seeing how a shy smile appeared on the other boy's lips.

"Thank you! Thank you very much…!"

The Gryffindors kept staring as Riddle walked away from them, still not believing in what they had just heard.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, Minerva… I have no idea!"

"Do you think he is sick?" the witch asked, "He doesn't look good."

"He can't be feeling good! He's acting…weird."

It was true that Tom Riddle was acting in a really weird way, after all… It wasn't all the time that the Heir of Slytherin started talking to everyone who crossed paths with him on the corridors (even with some annoying third years girls), trying to be as friendly as possible.

* * *

**24th OF DECEMBER, 1945**

The war had ended and, finally, England was in peace, even though it was, also, destroyed. The Riddles hadn't been too affected by the war, just some buildings the family owned at London were damaged, but, aside from that, everything was well for them.

Alright, not everything. The fact that Mr and Mrs Riddle's son, Tom, had never married someone was kinda like a spot on the family's reputation. The young Riddle had never showed any interest in another woman since he ran away with the daughter of a tramp that lived in Little Hangleton… It was not as if there weren't girls all around trying to get his attention, no, Tom was a handsome man who could get any woman to be his wife, but he seemed not to be interested in none of them (or didn't he trust any of them?).

Well, but leaving aside Mrs Riddle's insistence for her son to get married and give her a grandchild, everything in the life of the Riddle family was very good. Thank you, very much!

Frank Bryce knew that very well. The gardener lived, day after day, watching the Riddles as they lived in a huge house, were the most influent people in the village, had money, were well known… Everything was great for them! Mr Bryce liked to work for the family, even though they could be pretty rude sometimes, they paid him well and even gave him breaks some times… Like during Christmas, when he could relax for a while before getting back to work… Or at least it was supposed to be like that.

"Open the door!" Mrs Riddle voice echoed inside the house as a knock on the front door was heard.

"Yes, Mrs Riddle," the maid who worked at the house answered as she got up from the kitchen's table where she and Frank were having their small Christmas dinner.

"I'll do it for you, Maggie."

"Frank, you don't have to work today," the girl laughed, "Don't worry about it."

"I just don't want to be left alone in here," the gardener smiled and followed her to the front door.

"May I help you…?" the maid's voice disappeared as she looked at who had just knocked.

It was a tall young man who couldn't be older than nineteen. She had never seen that boy in her life, but, at the same time, he resembled so much…

"May I see Tom Riddle?"

"Sir, I'm afraid Mr Riddle won't be seeing you," the girl answered and looked at the gardener, trying to see if he had noticed how this young man looked like the Riddles' son, "Why don't you come back tomorrow?"

"Yes, today is Christmas Eve and Mr Riddle does not wish to be disturbed," said Frank, "Why don't you go home, boy?"

"I really need to talk with Mr Riddle… Today."

"Oh… I'll try to call him."

Maggie looked at the boy one last time before walking away while Bryce kept staring at him. The stranger was really handsome, with blue eyes, pale skin and dark hair… But those clothes he wore were so odd! Who walked around wearing a green cloak?

After a few minutes, the maid came back. She had a scared expression on her face and Frank knew that it was because one of the Riddles might have yelled at her for interrupting their "family moment".

"Sir," the girl started, quickly glancing towards the gardener, "Mr Riddle will see you at his study in a few minutes."

Maggie leaded the boy to a small room full of bookshelves and asked him to wait. When she went back to the hall, she saw Frank looking at her with a curious expression on his face.

"Who is that boy?" she whispered.

"I have no idea."

"He is just like Mr Riddle! Oh, God! Do you think Mr Riddle…?"

The maid fell into silence as she saw the son of the Riddles approaching them. The man passed by her and Frank and gave them a quick, serious look, before making his way to the study.

* * *

Knock on the door, ask to see Tom Riddle, wait and talk with Tom Riddle. That was everything he had to do and, even though it seemed to be an easy task, the boy was almost breaking his own fingers as he twisted them while he waited for Riddle to appear.

"What is it now?" the wizard heard the door being shut and a man's voice whisper, "What do you want? In case you haven't noticed, today is Christmas Eve and I'm trying to spend the night with my family. Why don't do the same instead of bothering me?"

"That's what I'm trying to do, sir," the boy whispered, turning around and looking at the man.

It was as he imagined it would be. Tom Riddle Sr. was an older version of himself. It was obvious they were related to each other and, of course, the muggle had also noticed that.

"W-Who are you?"

_"Take a deep breath and begin."_

"My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, I'm nineteen years old and I lived my whole life at the Wool's Orphanage, at London… Until last year, when I moved to a rented apartment," he paused for a minute before continuing, "I'm a wizard. I graduated in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry last year… with honors. I'm the heir of Salazar Slytherin, one of the school's founders. I work as a trainee at the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic, but I want to try to become a Defense Against Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts…"

The boy stayed in silence just waiting to see a reaction from his father.

"And I'm your son."

The muggle didn't say a word, he simply turned around and walked out the room. The young wizard felt sadness starting to build up inside himself, noticing that all his efforts to talk to his father were in vain. The man simply ignored him as he thought he would do.

"What!" a woman's voice yelled somewhere on the second floor.

"Order him to leave, Tom!" this time it was a man who yelled.

"How much do you bet he just wants money? That woman must have sent him…!"

"Tom? Tom! Come back here! Don't leave us talking to the walls…!"

It didn't take too long for his father to show up at the room's door again, but, this time, he had a tiny smile on his lips and his eyes had some kind of fascination in them as he looked at his son. As he saw that image, Tom Marvolo Riddle felt like he had finally achieved something he dreamed since he was a child.

**.end.**

* * *

**N/A:** The last chapter ._.' So OOC, but I like it XD I really like to think Tom Sr would have accepted his son after everything Tom Jr said ... don't know XD I don't have much to say about this chapter... Well, thanks everyone who left reviews on the other chapters ( **EllyRiddle **, **givetherabbitthefreakintrix **, **Dracarot **and **Girly-Black **) :D

Last year, when I wrote this fic, I did some fanart for it... here they are:

**http : / arileli . deviantart . com / art / Ghost-of-Christmas-past-147772218?q = gallery : arileli / 23800140&qo = 15**  
**http : / arileli . deviantart . com / art / Ghost-of-Christmas-present-147772865?q = gallery : arileli / 23800140&qo = 14**

I really hope you enjoyed this fanfiction :D and, again, Merry Christmas for those who celebrate it (:

**Ari.**


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